Creative Chaos

Calder's studio Photo courtesy of Herbert Matter

I recently bought a book as a gift for my mother about living artfully with clutter and it spurred a conversation about our studio spaces. Some amazing work comes from cluttered studios (see Calder's studio above).

I grew up in a house where the dining room table served as a workspace for my mother's projects.  She was a crafts person then, making 3-dimensional quilts and soft sculpture.  Her actual work room was filled from top to bottom with scraps of fabric, beads, zippers, you name it.  I went to sleep every night listening to the hum of her sewing machine (accessed by climbing over the piles of stuff).  She now has two levels of workspace filled with house paint and various furniture projects.

I work in a spare bedroom at home. If I am in the middle of a lot of work (as I am now), my studio is stacked with paintings and reference material and frames and boxes.  It is slightly neater than my mother's workroom (the mess is regulated to the outer reaches of the room). I do a thorough cleaning about once a year. Rest assured, the remainder of the house is neat and clean!

I am envious of those who have ample space and no clutter to work in. Those glossy pictures in the monthly magazines that show pristine and organized spaces(certainly scrubbed for the camera crew) make me yearn for a place to relax in my studio without having to move something out of the way.

Do you do your best work surrounded by chaos?

My mother's studio circa 1980

In Support of Art

Catching Light oil 18 x 19

I was interested to read that a new study suggests that cultural participation such as visiting art museums, going to the ballet, or attending gallery openings encourages good health and happiness in men. These activities measurably improved their lives. The study found that the effects were not the same in women--perhaps because we find other ways to wind down.  So, where physical activity was previously recommended for men, it seems that the leisurely activities that stimulate the mind and the eyes are just as important. Another reason to cultivate, not cut the arts!

Put Something of Yourself In

Autumn Collection oil 18 x 14 SOLD

You paint the way you are made. And the viewer, looking at your pictures, is interested because he senses your mind and your emotions at work --Emile Gruppe

One way to improve upon using reference photos in the studio is to put something of yourself in.  Show your viewer how you think--how you see the world. Merely replicating the photograph pixel for pixel doesn't say anything.  Can you change the compostition to tell a story?  Can you change the palette?  Can you capture a shape with one brushstroke?  Can you express in paint why you picked the photograph in the first place? Are you thinking about what you are trying to express or are you blindly copying?  Are you trying to make something whimsical?  Political? Thought-provoking? What makes the painting uniquely yours?

When I look at art, I want to see something of the artist's personality there.  I want to see how the artist thinks--even if I don't entirely understand the message. I am not interested if the painting "looks real".  I want to see an interpretation of the artist's world. So go out there and make something that tells a story about you.

Artist Stereotypes

A Bright Spot oil 12 x 9

It always makes me laugh when the artist stereotype comes up in conversation.  Broad catagories like artists are unkempt and drink too much.  Artists can't manage their time or artists are irresponsible and lazy.  Artists don't (or can't) make a decent living. Artists are eccentric or mentally off-balance.  Artists dress in black and wear berets.

I know many artists who are grown-up, responsible, deadline-adhering, hard-working, well-dressed and regularly-bathed members of society. In fact, most of them are.

Heroes

Aldro Hibbard Winter Stream

Every artist has a few heroes that have come before them.  Painters that they look to for inspiration or information.  Heroes should motivate you to paint better. The list may grow as the artist grows and in writing this, I notice a few on my list that were influencial at first, but I no longer look to them as much. I still love their work, but I find it is important to continually study work that speaks to you in new ways.

I have a few to share today.  The list is longer than this, but best shared in small amounts.

The only living artist on my list was one of my first influences, Russell Chatham.  His work has an abstract quality to it that I love. I bought his One Hundred Paintings book right out of college.

• Aldro Hibbard.  A New England painter who structures his brushstrokes in a way that I find intriging.
• Emile Gruppe.  A contemporary of Hibbard.  You can see their work together in a wonderful small gallery in Jeffersonville, Vermont. They painted in the area.
• John Carlson for his beautiful ability with trees and light.
• William Wendt. A California Impressionist who again uses brushwork and color to structure his paintings.
• Ernest Blumenshein.  A Taos painter.  The abstract qualities and design elements in his paintings are interesting to me.
• Last but not least, John Singer Sargent.  I think he shows up on every painter's list of heroes.



John Singer Sargent Home Fields

 

Postcards

Painting Detail

I read somewhere (I can't remember quite where right now) that in painting, one should be happy if any part of the painting goes well. Quite often I find that if I am struggling with a piece, somewhere in the painting there is a little postcard size section that really sings. A little 4 x 6 that works in terms of color and brushwork and composition.  It is piecing a bunch of postcards together that is the difficult part.  Sometimes it can be hard to let go of a painting that has a passage like this and wipe it out, though I suppose it is enough that that little postcard happened in the first place.

When I used to teach watercolor techniques, I recommended actually saving that little piece and using it as a postcard to send to a friend. It is more challenging to do so if you are working on board, but I suppose one could do the same.  Or photograph it and stick it in the recesses of your files. The best thing to do is to try to replicate it in another attempt.

I liked this small section of a recent painting because of the brushwork and subtle color ideas and I am going to try and capture the feel of the successful parts in another painting.

Small Works

Apple Branch Study oil 8 x 6



I recently had a request for some small works.  I don't usually work smaller than 8 x 10, but it was fun to sit down and paint a few 6 x 8s--I think it allowed me to let go of the results a bit since there was less time and material invested.  I cut a bunch of boards and painted several to choose from.  It also allowed me to really simplify shape and brushwork.

A friend owns an orchard on the Western Slope of Colorado and we visited during harvesting time while there were apples to be picked and cider to be made. I made several paintings from the trip, watching the sunrise on the mesa. The landscape is different there--it has a high desert feel--it is warmer and drier than the mountains and there are several orchards and vineyards in the area.  We have been invited back this Spring when the trees are in bloom and I am really looking forward to it!

Routines and Rituals

Permanence oil 18 x 14

Disciplined routine is an important part of my everyday life.  Even though I work from home, I treat my painting day just as if I needed to show up at an office where I was accountable for getting work done. Otherwise, I would waste my day on the little stuff like laundry and cleaning out my paint drawer.

Every morning, I wake and walk the dog.  This clears the sleepiness and starts me thinking about what I will make for the day.  I am at my desk by 8:00. I paint until 12:30 or so NO MATTER WHAT. I break for lunch and then it is back to work until about 2:00. Then I can take care of prepping boards, and framing, and inventory, and the blog and website, in the late afternoon when I am too fuzzy-headed for good work.  And then begins the long wait until the next day when I can wake up and get to work again (I stole this line from Donald Hall's Life Work and he stole the line from Hemingway).

I find that many professional artists have a similar routine--though some work at night instead of during the day. I read recently that it actually promotes creativity to have daily rituals. If I haven't followed the daily routine, I get a bit anxious, like all work will cease and I will never sell another piece in my life.  So, it is important to me to stick to it.

What are your routines or rituals?

Capturing Value

On the Bluff oil 12 x 16

Here is a new trick I'm trying.  Value and its structure is one of the more important components of a painting.  I love using color and sometime lose the light and dark pattern in my work. Or I get caught up in the details instead of the big shapes. Look at Sargent's paintings.  He is a master at the big shapes and value placement.

I am using my photo editing program to change my color photos of my work (not the reference photos) to black and white.  It is useful if you have trouble translating value to color. From there I can simplify values if they aren't working and make sure that they lead the eye. Sometimes this trick helps. At other times, the painting wasn't planned well from the start and it is beyond help!